Paid employment and women's psychological well-being.

Examines research by psychologists, psychiatrists, and sociologists within a 3-component conceptual framework that suggests that the association between employment status and psychological well-being is mediated by a woman's occupational involvement, the quality of her nonoccupational environment, and the quality of her employment relationship. These 3 features are operationalized at the group and individual levels to show that in certain circumstances psychological well-being is significantly associated with having paid employment but that this association is not a general one. For example, the relationship is strong for single women but rarely observed for married women in general; it is more likely to be found in working-class than in middle-class samples. The conceptual framework is advocated for more sophisticated research in this area. (61 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The negative side of social interaction: Impact on psychological well-being.

Examined the relative impact of positive and negative social outcomes on the well-being of 120 60–89 yr old widowed women by conducting standardized interviews in 4 senior citizen centers that varied in size, neighborhood characteristics, and types of activities emphasized. Results show that negative social outcomes were more consistently and more strongly related to well-being than were positive social outcomes. This effect of negative social involvement did not appear to be due to major differences among Ss with high vs moderate or low levels of problematic social ties. ANOVA showed that Ss in the 3 social-tie groups differed neither in important background characteristics nor in indices of social competence. It is suggested that the results demonstrate the importance of assessing the specific content of social relations. It is concluded that, like other age groups, the elderly should be expected to have highly differentiated social needs and that the diversity of such needs should be reflected in social programs designed for them. (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multiple roles, social networks, and women's well-being.

In contrast to earlier approaches to the study of multiple roles, our research was concerned with the frequency and conditions under which both positive and negative outcomes occur. Using data from a random sample of 235 married female nurses, we focused on marital and job satisfaction as important criteria of success in managing multiple roles. In the first phase of the research, a cluster analysis identified five different profiles of marital and job satisfaction. Of the two most positive profiles, one was defined by high scores in both areas, the other by high job satisfaction but only moderate marital satisfaction. In two other profiles, women were very dissatisfied with one role and at best moderately satisfied with the other. In the second phase, the profiles were found to be meaningfully associated with measures of psychological symptomatology and overall life satisfaction. The third phase considered how the profiles were linked to measures of social support and social rejection provided by five key network members. The strongest univariate profile discriminator was the level of work rejection from the spouse. A discriminate function analysis revealed that the level of spouse's work rejection was even more powerful when it was compared to the level of work rejection received from the next closest family member (typically the mother). (53 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Illusion and well-being: A social psychological perspective on mental health.

Many prominent theorists have argued that accurate perceptions of the self, the world, and the future are essential for mental health. Yet considerable research evidence suggests that overly positive self-evaluations, exaggerated perceptions of control or mastery, and unrealistic optimism are characteristic of normal human thought. Moreover, these illusions appear to promote other criteria of mental health, including the ability to care about others, the ability to be happy or contented, and the ability to engage in productive and creative work. These strategies may succeed, in large part, because both the social world and cognitive-processing mechanisms impose filters on incoming information that distort it in a positive direction; negative information may be isolated and represented in as unthreatening a manner as possible. These positive illusions may be especially useful when an individual receives negative feedback or is otherwise threatened and may be especially adaptive under these circumstances. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Centrality of women's multiple roles: Beneficial and detrimental consequences for psychological well-being.

Theorists have proposed that greater centrality (personal importance) of a social role is associated with better psychological well-being but that role centrality exacerbates the negative effects of stress in that same social role on well-being. The present study found evidence to support both hypotheses in a sample of 296 women who simultaneously occupied the roles of parent care provider, mother, wife, and employee. Greater centrality of all four roles was related to better psychological well-being. As predicted, wife centrality exacerbated the effects of wife stress on life satisfaction, and employee centrality exacerbated the effects of employee stress on depressive symptoms. Contrary to prediction, centrality of the mother role buffered women from the negative effects of mother stress on depressive symptoms. These findings point to an aspect of role identity that can benefit well-being but that has complex effects in the context of role stress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intergenerational potential: Effects of social interaction between older adults and adolescents.

The present study aimed to investigate the potentially facilitative effect of the interaction between older adults and adolescents. For older adults, the interaction was expected to compensate for age-related deficits (e.g., cognitive performance, cognitive-affective complexity). In case of the adolescents, an optimization of development was expected (e.g., prosocial behavior, communion goals). Ninety older women (70-74 years) and 90 adolescent girls (14-15 years) were randomly assigned to 3 experimental conditions. In each of the conditions, nonfamiliar dyads collaborated on 1 task. The conditions varied according to the age composition and the type of contextual demand (high vs. low support of generativity [older adults] and identity formation [adolescents]). Individual performance measures were assessed immediately after the interaction. As expected, intergenerational settings characterized by high support of generativity and identity formation resulted in more prosocial behavior in adolescents. Furthermore, the results lent partial support to the hypothesis that in older adults, this setting facilitated higher complexity of emotion regulation as well as higher levels of performance in measures of speed and word fluency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Internet paradox. A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being?

We present a method for estimating age- and time-specific HIV incidence using back-calculations of AIDS incidence data. Two-dimensional penalized likelihood is employed, using a flexible bivariate step function model of HIV incidence, together with a quadratic roughness penalty which leads to thin-plate spline smoothing. This allows incidence estimates to vary flexibly and smoothly in both age and time. We propose generalized cross-validation as a guide for choice of an appropriate level of smoothing and describe an EM algorithm for computing the estimates. We propose the method primarily for qualitative assessment of trends in age-specific incidence over time and apply it to a small Italian data set on men who have sex with men. The analysis suggests a trend over time of increasing relative incidence among younger individuals, consistent with incidence patterns observed in other countries.     

Individual and common components of the social environment at work and psychological well-being.

Interpretations of correlational research on the social origins of psychological well-being are limited by the possibility of reciprocal influences between persons and their social situations and by respondent bias. These issues are addressed in a study of the relation between the social environment at work and mental health. Two components of a social environment were measured: a common social environment, the social climate shared by employees in the same work setting, and an individual social environment, the social space surrounding one individual in the setting. The study related (a) averaged co-workers' ratings and individuals' own ratings of the social environment to (b) individuals' self-reported psychological well-being. A group of 37 bank branches represented work environments, and nonmanagerial personnel in the branches served as participants. Results indicated that the quality of the social environment at work is related to the mental health of employees. More important, the relation was confirmed with an independent measure of the social environment. Aggregate co-worker ratings of the common social environment were significantly correlated with individual depression and anxiety. However, an individual's perceptions appeared to mediate the social environment's impact. As hypothesized, well-being was more closely tied to the proximal individual social environment than to the more distal common social environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting women's well-being in midlife: The importance of personality development and social role involvements.

Theories of adult development suggest that both personality and social roles are sources of adult well-being, but most research has examined only social roles. An integrated model was used, including personality, number of roles, and role quality, to predict well-being in 2 longitudinal studies of college-educated women. Results for both samples indicated that role quality and personality development were important components of the path to well-being, whereas number of roles occupied was important mainly in early adulthood. Moreover, the results provided support for E. Erikson's (1968) notion of the importance of the sequencing of personality development for later well-being. Path analyses indicated that engagement in multiple roles during early adulthood facilitated the development of identity, which predicted generativity and role quality, which in turn predicted well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Abortion, childbearing, and women's well-being.

The relationship of abortion to women's well-being in the context of childbearing experiences and coping resources is examined over a span of 8 yrs using a national sample of 5,295 US women. No evidence of widespread post-abortion trauma was found. Having 1 abortion was positively associated with higher global self-esteem, particularly feelings of self-worth, capableness, and not feeling one is a failure. When childbearing and resource variables were controlled, neither having 1 abortion nor having repeat abortions had an independent relationship to well-being, suggesting that the relationship of abortion to well-being reflects abortion's role in controlling fertility and its relationship to coping resources. When childbearing and abortion variables were controlled, women's well-being was separately and positively related to employment, income, and education, but negatively related to total number of children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of social context and mothers' requesting strategies on Down's syndrome children's social responsiveness.

Social context and maternal style of requesting and responsiveness were examined in teaching and social interactions in relation to 28 Down's syndrome (DS; aged 30–69 mo) and 28 mental-age matched normal children's cooperation and social initiative. Compliance for DS Ss was similar to normal Ss for child-initiated exchanges but decreased during mother-initiated exchanges, particularly in less structured situations. The DS Ss initiated fewer exchanges but were comparable on self-directed behavior. Differences in mothers' requests and children's social competence related to risk, language skills, and social situation. The DS but not normal Ss were more likely to increase compliance with directive vs suggestive requests, but only in the unstructured situation. Mothers' behaviors, social context, and expressive language skills were important in understanding the social competence of DS Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of perceived child physical and sexual abuse history on Native American women's psychological well-being and AIDS risk.

The impact of perceived child abuse history on 160 adult, Native American women's emotional well-being (i.e., depressive mood and anger) and AIDS risk was examined. How sense of mastery and social support might lead to women's greater resiliency was also investigated. Child physical-emotional abuse was found to have greater impact on depressive mood and anger and AIDS risk than did child sexual abuse. This finding was independent of current stress in women's lives. Women who were physically- emotionally abused as children had 5.14 times greater odds of having a sexually transmitted disease in their lifetimes than did women who experienced only marginal or no physical- emotional abuse. Moreover, consistent with the communal culture of Native Americans, social support was found to contribute more to resilience than sense of mastery did. Reasons for the greater predictive power of child physical- emotional abuse compared with child sexual abuse in a growing number of studies are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of marital discord on young children's peer interaction and health.

Reports an investigation of the effects of marital discord on the peer interactions and physical health of preschool children. A sample of families that ranged widely in marital satisfaction and had a 4- to 5-yr-old child participated in several home and laboratory sessions involving marital, parent-child, and peer (with a best friend) interaction. Obtained observational, self-report, and physiological indices. Hypothesized that the ability to regulate emotion would be disrupted in children from maritally distressed homes and that this would result in poor child outcomes. Found support for a path-analytic model correlating the child outcomes of the child's level of play, negative peer interaction, and physical health, using marital satisfaction, the parents' physiology during marital interaction, observations of parent–child interaction, the child's physiology during parent–child interaction, indices of emotion during the directed facial action task, and urinary assays of catecholamine endocrine variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Increasing emotional competence improves psychological and physical well-being, social relationships, and employability.

This study builds on earlier work showing that adult emotional competencies (EC) could be improved through a relatively brief training. In a set of 2 controlled experimental studies, the authors investigated whether developing EC could lead to improved emotional functioning; long-term personality changes; and important positive implications for physical, psychological, social, and work adjustment. Results of Study 1 showed that 18 hr of training with e-mail follow-up was sufficient to significantly improve emotion regulation, emotion understanding, and overall EC. These changes led in turn to long-term significant increases in extraversion and agreeableness as well as a decrease in neuroticism. Results of Study 2 showed that the development of EC brought about positive changes in psychological well-being, subjective health, quality of social relationships, and employability. The effect sizes were sufficiently large for the changes to be considered as meaningful in people's lives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of competition and relative deservedness of the other's fate on children's generosity.

Data from a study with 96 male 4th and 5th graders support the notion that the child's sense of the relative deservedness of the potential recipients' fate influences his inclination to respond charitably. Ss were more charitable to children whose unfortunate plight was determined by chance than to children who lost in a competition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stressors, locus of control, and social support as consequences of affective psychological well-being.

Tests of the influence of affective psychological well-being on stressors, locus of control, and social support in a 1-month follow-up study of 210 male and 34 female British accountants is reported. There was a marginally significant association between the level of psychological symptoms and subsequent reports of intensity of quantitative workload stressors. A significant interaction between psychological symptoms and a measure of depression-enthusiasm was found to predict subsequent locus of control. The results indicate a differential pattern of associations between aspects of affective well-being and subsequent reports of social support. The results also indicate that initially more frequent stressors are associated with subsequently less intense stressors of the same type. The findings highlight the dynamic and reciprocal nature of the occupational stress process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In the eye of the beholder: Views of psychological well-being among middle-aged and older adults.

Although the topic of psychological well-being has generated considerable research, few studies have investigated how adults themselves define positive functioning. To probe their conceptions of well-being, interviews were conducted with a community sample of 171 middle-aged (M?=?52.5 years, SD?=?8.7) and older (M?=?73.5 years, SD?=?6.1) men and women. Questions pertained to general life evaluation, past life experiences, conceptions of well-being, and views of the aging process. Responses indicated that both age groups and sexes emphasized an "others orientation" (being a caring, compassionate person and having good relationships) in defining well-being. Middle-aged respondents stressed self-confidence, self-acceptance, and self-knowledge, whereas older persons cited accepting change as an important quality of positive functioning. In addition to attention to positive relations with others as an index of well-being, lay views pointed to a sense of humor, enjoying life, and accepting change as criteria of successful aging. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consequences of superfluous social constraints: Effects on young children's social inferences and subsequent intrinsic interest.

Investigated the effects of the imposition of a nominal contingency—the presentation of engagement in one activity as a means for earning the chance to engage in a second activity of equivalent initial interest—on 132 preschoolers' subsequent intrinsic interest in and social inferences about the 2 activities. Across experiments analogous contingency manipulations were presented in a highly familiar context in which Ss had previously encountered such contingencies and a more novel context in which Ss had not previously encountered the use of such social constraints. Ss in the 3 studies showed some tendency to discount interest in the activity presented as a means relative to the activity presented as an end. Further evidence suggests that findings did not result from any reflective reliance on an abstract discounting principle. Implications for understanding the development of self- and social perception processes and interpreting previous over-justification research are discussed. (57 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of performance expectancy and self-focused attention on social interaction.

Investigated the impact of performance expectancies and self-focused attention on social performance in mixed-sex dyads of 48 undergraduate men with self-reported moderate social anxiety on a modified Social Avoidance and Distress Scale. Ss were divided into 2 groups on the basis of their high or low performance expectancies. Ss were asked to respond to several self-report questionnaires before and after making a telephone call lasting 4–5 min to a female confederate for the purpose of getting acquainted. Results show that half of the Ss in each expectancy group performed in the presence of a self-focusing stimulus (video-camera). When anxiety level was controlled for, focus of attention alone had a very limited effect on performance. Expectancy had a significant influence on social performance, but only if Ss were self-focused. Thus confident Ss were rated by judges as more socially skilled than were doubtful Ss, but only when the camera was present. The interaction between these variables parallels previous research by C. S. Carver et al (see record 1980-32489-001) and Carver and M. F. Scheier (see record 1980-25774-001) and supports the self-regulation model of Carver and Scheier (1983). (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The structure of psychological well-being revisited.

A theoretical model of psychological well-being that encompasses 6 distinct dimensions of wellness (Autonomy, Environmental Mastery, Personal Growth, Positive Relations with Others, Purpose in Life, Self-Acceptance) was tested with data from a nationally representative sample of adults (N?=?1,108), aged 25 and older, who participated in telephone interviews. Confirmatory factor analyses provided support for the proposed 6-factor model, with a single second-order super factor. The model was superior in fit over single-factor and other artifactual models. Age and sex differences on the various well-being dimensions replicated prior findings. Comparisons with other frequently used indicators (positive and negative affect, life satisfaction) demonstrated that the latter neglects key aspects of positive functioning emphasized in theories of health and well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)